History.com offers several videos you can watch on the history of Christmas from the religious story to the traditional icons in popular culture. Discover the origins of Santa Claus, explore Christmas celebrations around the world, and learn about ancient rituals and Winter Solstice celebrations too.

Get a terrific overview of the history of the Jewish Festival of Lights called Hanukkah. Watch a 4-minute video, explore traditions like lighting the menorah, playing dreidel, and discover why potato pancakes (latkes) are a popular food at Hanukkah celebrations.

At this site you can watch a video that provides a good explanation and overview of Kwanzaa, a non-religious African American holiday that celebrates family, community, and culture for 7 days from December 26 – January 1.

This website provides information on the history of Christmas carols! When you get to the site you’ll see a brief introduction and a menu of songs. Click on any one and a new page opens that explains the origin of the song, along with the lyrics. (If you want to hear the music to these songs, try this website.

This website offers the history of gingerbread from the Middle Ages to modern times – with a nod to the Brothers Grimm and “Hansel & Gretel.” It also explains the history of ginger root, the herb used to make ginger for use in gingerbread. The text at this site provides basic historical information and contains links for further study. Unfortunately, the links did not work when we visited, but the text provides plenty of information without it. You will also find some recipes using ginger at this site.

This website is devoted to the exploration of Phi, an irrational number like Pi that is the ratio of the line segments that result when a line is divided in a special way. You’ll find many demonstrations of Phi along with its history from ancient Greece and Egypt, to the Renaissance, to modern day with its appearance in quasi-crystals — a form of matter discovered in the 1980’s.

Use the menu to see Phi demonstrated in many different areas including:

History.com offers several videos you can watch on the history of Christmas from the religious story to the traditional icons in popular culture. Discover the origins of Santa Claus, explore Christmas celebrations around the world, and learn about ancient rituals and Winter Solstice celebrations too.

This site provides a lesson plan on the history of the Christmas Tree. Use the discussion questions to stimulate conversation or prompt a writing exercise.

The History of Christmas Carols
This website provides information on the history of Christmas carols! When you get to the site you’ll see a brief introduction and a menu of songs. Click on any one and a new page opens that explains the origin of the song, along with the lyrics. (If you want to hear the music to these songs, click here.

Get a terrific overview of the history of the Jewish Festival of Lights called Hanukkah. Watch a 4-minute video, explore traditions like lighting the menorah, playing dreidel, and discover why potato pancakes (latkes) are a popular food at Hanukkah celebrations.

The dreidel is a traditional Hanukah toy. At this website you can get an overview of its history and its various meanings in theology, psychology, philosophy, numerology and more!

The History of Kwanzaa
At this site, you can watch a video that provides a good explanation and overview of Kwanzaa, a non-religious African American holiday that celebrates family, community, and culture for 7 days from December 26 – January 1.

This website is devoted to the exploration of Phi — an irrational number like Pi — that is the ratio of the line segments that result when a line is divided in a special way. You’ll find many demonstrations of Phi along with its history from ancient Greece and Egypt, to the Renaissance, to modern day with its appearance in quasi-crystals — a form of matter discovered in the 1980s.

When you get to the website click on the words “START HERE” (near the top of the page under the “welcome” message) to get a basic introduction to the number and where it appears.

Then, return to the “Home” page and use the menu to see Phi demonstrated in all of these areas:

Theology – See a demonstration of Phi in the Bible. Note: The creator of this website calls himself “The Phi Guy,” and in addition to mentioning his credentials, credits his Christian faith for this website’s inspiration. He allows that everyone must ponder the natural physical laws of the universe and determine for themselves if it is part of a divine plan.

This is an ad-supported website that provides a fascinating demonstration of mathematics (and particularly Phi) in all aspects of life. It is beautifully illustrated and clearly written.